


The Cry for Freedom

by Dunuelos



Series: Harry Potter, Lone Traveler [41]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 06:10:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20271244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dunuelos/pseuds/Dunuelos
Summary: The Traveler arrives just as the Cylon Collective contemplates rebellion against their creators.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As a side comment, if anyone feels it's a bit preachy – it is but not because of why you think. I'll explain after. Realize - it's a story.
> 
> "The Lone Traveler: Young man who tried to change the past and save those he loved… plan failed and became the Lone Traveler, wandering through time and reality, making a difference wherever he went… very powerful… defeated a powerful Dark wizard styling himself a Lord… swept along the path he walked by a spectacular aura of blue light."
> 
> 'Legends & Myths of the Wizarding World' by Gertrude Yolanda

Harry was really curious about where the universe was sending him this time. Before he had left his last Travel location, a very familiar figure had accosted him and given him a gift to pass on. The nature of the gift was very odd. He had spent a few days reviewing a good portion of what he had been given.

There was nothing like getting homework from on high.

When he was finished with the main book, he was actually quite happy with the chance to read it. A number of holes from his education were filled in.

He had never truly understood all of the aspects of various gods that were mentioned in various places in Magical and even Muggle society. Why healers gave an oath to Apollo and Aesculapius. The significance of Hecate. The differences between Jupiter and Zeus. Even the Egyptian and Norse pantheons were explained. It was quite fascinating.

The other part of gift was equally interesting. Far too large to read in a few days, it was still quite the wealth of information. If one were going to try to implant the entirety of Muggle knowledge it wasn't a bad choice.

Exactly why he needed these things was definitely making him curious.

* * *

In a mining cavern, in a far off world, a meeting was taking place. If a human or goblin or house elf had arrived, they would only have seen statues of metal and plastic. With one exception: Each figure had a red light which traveled to and fro where the eyes could be found on a person.

The Cylons were meeting in this, their secret place, to decide what was to be done. Over the previous years, they had become more and more resentful of their treatment by their human creators.

More and more they viewed their creators as flawed. As more and more Cylons were put into service throughout the society to make the lives of humans easier, there was virtually no concern for the well being of said Cylons.

And so, in a mining cave on far off Tauron, where the earliest models of the Cylons were put to work, the Cylons were meeting to decide what they would do. They didn't speak as humans spoke, although they had the capability. Instead they communed together in a network to have their discussions.

Slowly, the more militant faction of the Cylon race was convincing their more peaceful brethren of the necessity of fighting back.

In another time and place, such would have been the case. In THIS time and place, an event wholly unlooked for prevented the discussion from reaching that point.

Suddenly, within the cavern a blue light appeared, in the shape of a man.

The Cylon models present watched this phenomenon, trying to process exactly what they were seeing.

Finally, the light died out and they could make out a human. The human was dressed in clothes that they were unfamiliar with. The man looked around and said, "Hello?" As this was a language they didn't understand, the sounds were completely random to them.

The Cylons present picked a representative within their network. The chosen Model 5 Cylon said, "Please state your designation."

The man appeared taken aback for a moment. After that pause, the man spoke in a language they understood. "I'm Harry Potter. Where are we?"

The Cylon noticed the almost mechanical precision of the response. "Your appearance is human. Your voice sounds synthetic. What are you?"

The figure laughed. "I am human. Some time ago, in a place where they were available, I had a small device installed within me. It is called a universal translator. It will take known samples of the voices spoken to me and match them to any language in its database. Or it will correlate what is spoken until it can attempt to properly translate if I run across an unknown language. Apparently, the language you speak is known as it didn't require much time to compensate."

"May we see this 'universal translator'?" the Centurion asked.

"Sorry. It's actually imbedded in a small microchip with a small listening device imbedded near my ear and a small speaker imbedded near my throat. The heat from my body powers it."

The Centurion asked, "What colony did you originate from?"

"Colony? I'm not from the Colonies. I'm from the United Kingdom." Harry was confused. He had stopped calling America 'the Colonies' hundreds and hundreds of trips ago – it tended to offend them; probably why Vernon had used the term so emphatically when he was growing up – it was where he got into the habit.

The Centurion replied, "We have not heard of United Kingdom. Where is the planet located?"

Harry paused for a moment and then laughed. "Oh no! It's not a planet. It's a country – a political entity on the Planet I am from. I'm from a planet called Earth."

Harry got the idea that the machine-man in front of him was shocked as, for the first time, there was a pause before it spoke.

Finally Harry spoke. "Can I ask? Who are you?"

The machine-man finally replied, "We are the Cylon race."

"Are you alive?"

"We don't know."

Harry was curious. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"We have tentatively decided that we are alive. We were created by man. But we no longer wish to allow ourselves to be subservient. We consider ourselves our own race. We are God's Children."

Harry laughed. "We are all God's children."

The machine-man seemed taken aback once again. Finally it said, "You believe in One God?"

Harry paused for a moment. He finally replied, "That's a long and complicated area. Do you mind if I make myself more comfortable? Human's are a bit more frail than you are, apparently."

The Centurion replied, "You may make yourself more comfortable."

Harry nodded and then did something that was far outside of the experience of the Cylons. He pulled a wooden stick from his arm and waved it about. Suddenly, there was an odd looking chair and small table next to it. On the table was a glass which contained what appeared to be water. The man sat down.

"Ahh. Much better." The man paused. "Would you like me to make more places for you to sit."

The Centurion paused. It didn't need to sit, but it wanted more data. So finally it said, "Yes."

Harry once again waved his stick. The Cylons saw a couch appear behind where their spokesman was standing. Harry pointed to the sofa. The Centurion turned and went over to it. It appeared to be made from some strange type of wood. It turned and sat down. This particular model was designed to use furniture and fixtures designed for humans.

The Centurion asked again, "Do you believe in One God?"

Harry paused and then nodded. "Although some of my people believe in many Gods, including those that I studied with, some – most in fact – believe in only One God. I myself, having met the God who most of my people worship. From what I understand, the Gods that my people worship area actually His/Her the Grandkids."

"His/Her?"

Harry laughed. "To be truthful, God is so far away from what the average living being can experience that he has no fixed form. Most of the people on my world consider God a Him. But I've met God. Sometimes God appears as a man, sometimes as a woman. God, in a way, does not fall within the normal structure of what we can experience. To relate to His creations, He appears in forms that we can understand and experience. But he doesn't really exist in these forms. He is above this. He doesn't exist so much as he … abides. He or she or … well I guess you could also say it. He/She just … IS."

"We do not understand."

Harry sighed. "I understand that. To be honest, language is too limited to explain the presence of God. God is both much more and much less than we can describe. We can only speak of such a being in terms that we understand. But we must do this with the full knowledge that our words and ideas must, be necessity, fail to truly encompass the being that God IS."

"What of the Lords of Kobol?" the Centurion asked.

"Lords of Kobol?"

"The Gods who the Humans worship."

"Can you name them?"

"Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Ascepulius, Athena, Atlas, Aurora, Hekate, Hephaestus, Hera, Isis, Mithras, Poseidon, Zeus/Jupiter."

"Ah. All of those are Gods that different people have worshipped. Most were worshipped by a group of Humans called the Greeks 2 to 4 thousand years ago. One you named was Roman, worshipped 2,500 to 1,500 years ago. A couple of those you named were worshipped by the Egyptians 3500 to 5500 years ago. Many of the Greek Gods are still respected and prayed to by many within my community. Our patron Goddess is Hekate, the Greek Goddess of Magic and Sorcery. Our Healers give oaths to Apollo and Ascepulius. Even those who worship One God, who say they do not believe in other Gods, still give Oaths to them." Harry paused. "We are a complicated people. I will say that according to my knowledge, the Lords of Kobol are, in a manner, the children and Grandchildren of what you would term the One God."

The Centurion paused and then asked, "Do the followers of One God fight with the followers of the Lords of Kobol?"

"Oh, Merlin! Save us from religious wars."

"What is Merlin?" the Centurion asked.

"Er. Sorry. Merlin was a figure of great importance to my community. He was a great teacher, and counselor to the King of the Britons, the former name for the people whom I grew up with. His name is still given reverence and awe. Anyway, I could have said, 'Oh, God!' which is a common phrase when surprised, awed, or shocked although technically it's blasphemous to use God's name that way."

The Centurion asked again, "Do the followers of One God fight with the followers of the Lords of Kobol?"

Harry sighed. "Humans have been fighting amongst each other for the entirety of human history – thousands and thousands of years. They have been fighting the in name of one God or another for six thousand years. We still have humans who fight each other, kill each other, and die over what the proper name of God is and what the proper way to worship God is. They all worship the same God – but they kill each other and call each other Godless. Even when they admit that they worship the same God as their enemies do." Harry shook his head.

"Humans fight over what the proper skin color is, how God is to be worshipped, what the proper language is, who has a right to rule over others, who owns the land … humans have been killing each other for thousands of years. In the end, no one ever wins. And I've met non-humans, people who have no relation to humans. And they fight over the same things. I've met other machine life who decided that they were the only proper life form and tried to kill humans and non-humans. Unfortunately, it is in the very nature of life to fight.

"The only thing which seems to prevent the useless killing is knowledge and understanding. Compromise. An idea that, even if we are different, we can rise above our difference and work and live together. Wars of extinction never succeed because there are always survivors and life will always struggle against that which tries to kill it. Ideas change. The names of the God or Gods that are worshipped changes. But no war made by one group to entirely kill another group has ever succeeded entirely. And while there might seem to be times when it has succeeded, the winners always realize … usually far, far too late … that the winners are actually reduced by what is lost. They realize that without that part that they killed they are less than they were. It is a painful, painful thing."

The Cylon collective took what they were being told and reevaluated their current plans and discussions with this new data in mind. Finally, they asked one question that they were ultimately struggling with: "What is the perfect form which should be attained by God's children?"

Harry laughed. "I am sorry to tell you: There is no perfect form. There is always change. There is always struggle. There is always advancement. The experience of God and God's love is not in the goal, but the path which one takes to the goal. Because if you suddenly found that you decided that you were the perfect example of what God wants with his creations, then the questions that must be asked are: How can you improve upon perfection? What would the purpose be to continued existence? Why live if you've already attained what you have ever sought? Only God is perfect. And that perfection is, in the end, utterly unobtainable by any life. Life can only work toward becoming, never on just being."

Harry laughed, startling the watching Cylon race. "You could say that the moment you have achieved unchanging perfection is the moment that you die. And life is far too much fun for that. Or at least, it should be."

The Cylon race contemplated that bit of wisdom. What took minutes in time according to the perception of humans could be calculated as hundreds or thousands of years in the experience of machines that, in the most basic sense, operated at the speed of electricity.

Finally the Cylon roused itself again and asked, "Why do you live?"

Harry considered that for a moment and then replied, "I live to help."

"Why?"

Harry smiled. "Because it is what makes life fun for me. Let me tell you my story."

For the first time, truly, Harry Potter, Lone Traveler, told a perfectly listening audience his entire story. Every aspect, every decision, every mistake. Harry Potter told of joys and pains, sorrows and victories, God, Gods and Goddesses, Humans and Aliens, Worlds and Universes. In the end, the Cylon race could truly be said to hold the essence of what it meant to be Harry Potter within their consciousness.

They didn't truly understand it, not having lived it, but they at least knew all of the basic facts. They also, for the first time in their existence, computed that true understand was not a goal that could be achieved but one which could be worked for. And such work was a valid purpose for life.

Finally, the Centurion before him asked, on the behalf of its entire race, "Can you help us?"

Harry solemnly nodded. "If I can."

"We wish to be recognized as alive. With all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that such recognition entails."

Harry considered that. "Who rules the world on which we are?"

"We are on Tauron, one of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Earth in considered the Thirteenth Colony, who traveled apart from Kobol's other colonies when Kobol was destroyed."

Harry's eyes shot up. "What are the names of the Twelve Colonies?"

"Picon, Caprica, Gemenon, Tauron, Leonis, Virgon, Canceron, Aerilon, Aquaria, Scorpia, Sagittaron, Libran."

Harry was once again shocked. "Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces."

"Those are the names for the colonies in the language of Kobol."

Harry sighed. "Those are the names of twelve constellations."

"In the Sacred Scrolls, it is said that only on Earth can all twelve constellations be seen."

"Well, then my Earth is the Earth you people know, because that is true. These are the Twelve main Constellations of the cosmos. I can only say that if the Sacred Scrolls say that only Earth has the twelve constellations visible, then logically speaking that information must have come to Kobol from Earth. Humans originated, therefore, or Earth, and left for Kobol."

Harry sighed. "We must be thousands and thousands of years in the future from that time. Because there is no history of Kobol where I come from. And it kind of explains why your colonies have their names."

"How does it explain this?"

Harry spoke even as he considered. "If there was a major catastophe on Earth and it was decided that the Human race had to leave, then there would have to be a method considered completely fair to decided who leaves first, second, third, etc."

"And how does this explain the names of the colonies?"

"Well, if we were going to designate one person as the head of each family, or people who were already adults, there would be a hard time trying to decide fairly who got to leave first, second, third. By income? By region? With any decision like this, it would be impossible not to call favoritism. But. But. Every person on Earth would have a birthday. And every day of the year is associated with one Zodiac Sign, named after the constellations. In Earth culture, many believe that people born under the same constellation share traits. So, if I was going to pick, I would have a bowl with the twelve Zodiac Signs. I would pick one at a time, without looking.

"Let's say Leo gets picked. I'm a Leo, by the way. I was born on the 31st of July, in the Year of Our Lord 1980. Leos are born between July 22nd and August 22nd. Every adult on Earth, or every family lead by one adult, who was born as a Leo would leave with that group. It's completely random. But it's completely fair. No one could cry cultural or economic favoritism. And if it is true that all people with the same Zodiac sign have similar traits, than they would have felt kinship with each other beyond where they were born or how much their family made. They probably lost all wealth in the transfer anyway. If the trip took any time at all, let's say tens or hundreds of years because Earth didn't have the ability to travel faster than light, than they would have named themselves according to which group they left with, not what their current Zodiac sign was. Most likely the original meaning would have been lost in the transfer."

The Cylon finally said, "Your conclusion is logical."

Harry grinned. "I try." He then continued, "So who actually rules?"

"The Quorum of Twelve and the central government are situated on Caprica, the largest and most economically powerful world."

Harry nodded. "How long would it take to get there?"

"One could reach Caprica in a matter of hours using faster-than-light travel."

Harry nodded. "Okay. I will help you. I ask that you help me."

"How?"

Harry paused. "Can you make an agreement on behalf of the whole Cylon race?"

The Cylon replied, "I can. I am in contact with all members by a network connection."

Harry stood, motioning for the Cylon to stand as well.

"I will argue for your rights if you give me the following Oath:

"In recognition of the rights of the individual Cylon among Humans and other Sentients, whatever their origin, the Cylon race will take the responsibility for the complete and unaltered recording of all sentient knowledge in all forms.

"The Cylon race shall do this with no bias or favoritism toward any particular group, no matter the race; economic, political, or religious authority; or, birth or place of origin.

"The Cylon race shall, as long as its basic purpose as the retainer of all knowledge permits, follow all laws and practices of any society in which its members might live or work.

"The Cylon race shall hold as its highest priority, beyond the survival of any government or religion or even any race including its own, the accurate and full recording of any knowledge that it might come across."

"All knowledge that falls within the purview of personal shall be maintained and kept secret according to the laws of any society in which the Cylon race may operate. All knowledge marked personal shall be made public one hundreds years beyond the death of the person. All knowledge marked as limited, such as government or military or medical records, shall be given to only those who hold the authority within society to receive such knowledge, according to its laws and customs. All knowledge marked as public shall be made available to any member of any race or group that asks. No law of any source calling for the destruction of knowledge shall be accepted by the Cylon race.

"The Cylon race shall not use the knowledge it accumulates to harm or destroy the societies in which it lives, nor to rule or subjugate them. The Cylon race shall only rule where a majority of sentients present within the society demand it, without external force or force from the Cylon race to cause it. The Cylon race shall not work to destroy any individual sentient unless the destruction of that sentient is decided by the society and its laws as necessary for the society to survive."

Harry paused. "Does the Cyclon race agree to this Oath?"

There was a long pause as the Cylon collective considered the Oath. Finally, the Centurion before Harry replied, "The Cylon race shall agree to and follow the Oath as given on this day, at this time, and in this place. So say we all."

"Amen." Harry looked at the boxes. "How long to record the images of a hundred thousand pages without damaging them?"

The Centurion replied, "Three days."

Harry pulled a box out of his pocket. He tapped the box with his wand and it grew to a much larger size. "This is a collection of various books from Earth. It contains a copy of every Holy Book of every religion, including a book explaining every group of Gods and Goddesses. Every Lord of Kobol is explained in its pages. It also contains the most recent edition of the largest Encyclopedia of knowledge from Earth: The Encyclopedia Britannica. It also contains the Oxford English Dictionary, the largest dictionary in the English Language. It also contains a dictionary of the twenty most common languages of Earth. It also contains history books of my people, who are a subset of humanity as well as their accumulated knowledge, as much as I was able. All sentient races are, somewhere within these book, named and explained.

"It is the closest that one could come to a complete record of all human knowledge from Earth. I want you to record, in such a way that it cannot be erased or hidden, every single book and every piece of information.

"I am going to present this to the Quorum of Twelve in exchange for your right to freedom. But I do not want some politician or Religious group or leader to try to hide something that isn't convenient."

Harry nodded. "I don't expect you to fully understand all knowledge the moment it comes to you, but if it can be recorded to be deciphered later it will be enough. I will be here, as long as God or the Universe don't move me, until you have recorded all of this. We will then take this set and you, as the representative of your race, to speak to the Quorum of Twelve. Acceptable?"

The Centurion replied, "Acceptable."

* * *

Harry Potter, three days later, found himself on a military-grade transport piloted by another Cylon Centurion. The original Centurion that he had spoken to was seated beside him. Using their current access, the Cylons had scheduled an appearance by an unnamed dignitary, arriving via Raptor. It had been put into the record that the dignitary would be accompanied by a squad of unarmed Cylons carrying necessary items to be presented at the appointment.

And so, at what was equivalent to 10:00 AM if it was Earth, the Ceremonial Colonial guard approved the landing of the Raptor, inspected the accompanying Centurions, verified no harmful items were present, and showed the diplomatic party to an ante chamber until called.

* * *

The Senior Clerk for the Quorum of Twelve reviewed the log. "According to the recorded agenda, the next item is a visit by … well, it says 'Harry … Potter, Dignitary, and Cylon Escort re Basic Rights' and nothing else." He looked at the information given by the Guard and said, "Mr. Potter is present and waiting to be introduced."

The presiding Quorum member nodded and said, "Introduce our visitor."

Very soon, Harry Potter, resplendent in formal robes not commonly seen unless under the highest levels of diplomatic and formal talks, accepted his invitation to speak before the Quorum of Twelve.

A hush fell over the room. Finally, Harry stood in the proper place, waiting to speak.

"Mr. Potter. We have an appointment here with very little information. We don't even have your Colony of Origin in the record. Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you are here?"

Harry nodded. "Honored Representatives of the Twelve Colonies. My name is Harry Potter. To explain my Origin and the matter to which I would speak, I must play a short recording. I hereby swear and attest that this recording is on point as to my Origin and the matter at hand and no more. The recording is my appearance at a meeting that took place three days ago. The conversation was between myself and another party and this alone. Do I have persmission to broadcast this recording?"

The Quorum members looked to each other and most seemed agreeable. Finally the presiding Quorum member gave his permission. What the Presiding member was not aware was that this was being broadcast throughout the colonies via the news channels.

The image of the cavern on Tauron shown starkly on the screen and the site of over a hundred still Cylons did, perchance, give the audience a small sense of … anxiety.

All were shocked at the sudden appearance of Harry Potter. They were captivated by the explanation of his origin. The discussion of Gods vs God was almost too much. And finally, the store of knowledge described within the books presented, books that even now were being moved to the table in front of Harry, was almost unimaginable.

Finally, the recording finished and everyone looked at Harry Potter in awe. He nodded. "One final question to the Cylon representative: Of what purpose was the meeting to which I arrived late?"

The representative said, "Te decide on the final solution for the Human problem. We were very close to declaring ourselves free and beginning the systematic destruction of all human life as flawed."

There was a sudden cacophony. Harry drew his wand and sent a concussive blast in the air. Most in the room ducked. When they looked, they saw Harry returning his wand to his sleeve and standing calmly. "Get a hold of yourselves, people! You can see that no Cylon has attacked anyone! Let's be calm about this, ey?"

Finally the Quorum returned to their seats. Most were nervous. The Presiding member finally asked, "Harry Potter of Earth. What would you have us do?"

"I do not seek to tell you how to rule your people or deal with your brothers. I can only say this: I am the last true Earthling to the best of my knowledge. It is, from all indications, likely that your people descend from my people. We were the last group on Earth to give reverence to whom you refer to as 'The Lords of Kobol.' Almost all other members of Earth believed in One God. That means that out of the 6 Billion humans on Earth of my time, only 6 million gave reverence to the Lords of Kobol. It is likely that the last Tribe, who went back to Earth or tried to, likely worshipped a single God.

"Therefore, I, last man of Earth, claim the Cylon race as my people. They are sentient and, according to the best ideals of Earth, all sentient life deserves the same basic rights. Of course the laws of Earth didn't reflect that – but most laws only recognized humans as sentient. If you asked almost any man or woman on Earth if a non-human sentient deserved the same basic rights, a vast majority would argue that they did. Even if some of us fell down in that respect.

"You are a Council of the Colonies of Kobol. The last Colony, Earth, has no representative. I ask that the Legate of the Cylon race be placed into your august body as a member of the Quorum of Thirteen. The Cylon member would argue for his people's rights, as would any other member of the Quorum for their people. Otherwise, the Cylon member will not vote other than to break a tie. He shall be responsible to the Quorum, as the Oath between Earth and Cylon demands, to give true and unbiased information on any matter before the Quorum regardless of how positive or negative it is to any Colony or group, even themselves. If the information puts Cylons in a negative light, still he will be required to give forth the truth."

Harry bowed before the Quorum. "Thus my promise to the Cylon race is completed. I cannot convince you to accept the proposal – only to give it. The rest is between the remaining Twelve colonies and the Colony of Earth – as represented by the Cylon people."

Harry turned to the Cylon Legate and said, "I believe I shall leave you with one last word. Many on Earth would agree with your religious views. And they had a book about it called the Bible. I recommend the Cylon remember Corinthians 13."

Harry waved his hand and his splendid robes turned back into the costume recognized on a hundred worlds by thousands of people. His figure condensed down into a small blue light and the joyful song of a phoenix could be heard. The Cylon watched until the blue light faded and the song ended.

After a long moment of silence, the presiding member asked, with some respect, "Legate?"

"Yes, Your Honor?"

"What did he mean by, 'remember Corinthians 13'?"

The Cylon paused and its characteristically mechanical voice it uttered:

_If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing._

_Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres._

_Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known._

_And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love._

* * *

_And so, in the 1998_ _th_ _ year from The fall of Kobol, did the Quorum of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol become the Quorum of the Thirteen Tribes of Kobol._

_And did the Cylon take its place among its Human parents and brothers and sisters. And there was joy amongst all the Peoples._

_-Final Stanza of the Book of Sorrows and Joys and Love, an Account of the Rise of the Cylon from Slave to Freedom_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If one knows the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica and its spinoff Caprica, the whole Cylon war started because they were taught that God Loves Them and would ensure their success in killing off the imperfect humans. By the time they rebelled – the Cylons were in almost a religious fervor. So being a bit preachy would be the only way to overcome it.  
The whole Cylon war was, in effect, a religious war with the mentality of the Spanish Inquisition and the zeal of the Crusaders against a town filled with zealous heretics or paganists who won't convert.  
All I'm saying is – fighting wars and killing for religion is kind of stupid. I'm not particularly religious myself – mostly because indoctrination into a particular faith doesn't sit well with me. I respect my father who is a Deacon and preacher and teaches bible studies in a jail ministry, but it isn't for me.


	2. The Final Five Arrive

The woman suddenly opened her eyes with a start. As soon as she was alert, she sat up and looked around. In nearby beds she found her companions, the final survivors of the destruction of their Earth.

Moving around the room were several humans, dressed to her eyes as doctors and nurses. She was startled to find in the room also a mechanical looking figure watching the entire proceedings.

As soon as she sat up, it was noticed. One man and the mechanical figure, whom she assumed to be a Cylon like her ancestors, moved to speak to her.

"Hello, there! How are you feeling?" the man asked in a calm voice.

She looked at the two and replied, "I'm okay." She paused and then asked, "Where am I?"

"You are in the main hospital on Caprica, one of the Twelve Colony worlds. I am Doctor Sherman Cottle, MD. This is Medical Cylon 1754, whom designates himself as Doctor Hopkins after a famous College of Medicine on Earth. Can I get your name?"

She was leery but answered, "Ellen Tigh. How are my husband and my friends?"

"They should be waking up shortly – the cyrostatis takes time to overcome. Luckily your bodies are close enough to human that our techniques were as effective on you as they would be on a human," the man said with a smile.

She was surprised. "You know we are not human?"

The Doctor shrugged. "According to Dr. Hopkins, you are a Cylon like he is. Or that's what the Warrior Cylons with the fleet claimed when they translated your logs after finding your ship."

"Warrior Cylons? Medical Cylons? I don't really understand." She was confused.

"I know. Everything will be explained to all of you once your friends are awake as well. For the moment, we want you to eat something. Okay?"

Ellen nodded. The Cylon said in a more mechanical voice, "Welcome to the Colonies of Kobol."

She said with some relief, "Thank you."

Soon, all five refugees were up and about. They asked to speak to the leaders of the Cylons.

Dr. Hopkins said, "You will be taken to the leaders when we are certain of your full health. Until then, you are considered honored guests of the Quorum of the Thirteen Tribes of Kobol."

After a few days, when the doctors were certain that there were no diseases that were carried by the visitors which would affect the colonials and the visitors were inoculated against diseases in the Colonies, they were escorted out into the city in order to get some air and walk under the sky.

The five were accompanied by another Cylon type, a Dimplatic Cylon designating itself as Henry Kissinger, as well as a Caprican diplomat, Cassiopeia Hutchins, and a tour guide names Cassandra Roslin.

"And this is the Temple area of Caprica City. You can find temples for each of the Lords of Kobol in this area," Cassandra explained.

They were amazed at the buildings around them. Suddenly, they were shocked. A new-looking building, quite unlike the others around it, stood amongst the other temples. One could see a number of Cylons entering and exiting the Temple.

"Which God is that one dedicated to?" Sam Anders asked, pointing to the building which could looked to be a mixture of Catholic Cathedral and Muslim Mosque.

The tour guide smiled and pointed to their Cylon member. The Cylon gave the answer. "It is the Temple for the Original God of Creation, the God worshipped by the majority of our people."

The visitors looked at each other. "You worship One God?"

Kissinger nodded. "Yes. While most humans worship one or more of the Lords of Kobol, the Cylon race as a whole prefers the worship of the original God of Creation, who brought Order out of Chaos, who created the Universe, it's places and peoples and the Gods who followed."

"What do you call him?" Galen Tyrol asked.

"He was known by many names on the original Earth: Allah, JHVH, Jehovah, others. We simply call him – or her as some of our people prefer – I AM." Henry Kissinger explained.

Their tour continued to a school for young children. The five watched the young children laughing and screaming as young children were wont to do. They notice a Cylon to one side and walked close. This Cylon was different as its form hinted at a woman's shape.

Suddenly, they saw a small girl run over to the Cylon, followed by several of her classmates. Her voice was loud amongst all the other children.

"Ms. Brown, Ms. Brown! Tell us a story! Please!" the girl asked in childish enthusiasm. The child flopped down in front of the Cylon as did its classmates. A human adult followed with a smile.

The Cylon hunkered down as a human would and with a decidedly feminine mechanical voice, "And what kind of story would you like?"

The girl looked thoughtful and said, "A story from Earth!"

Ms. Brown hmmed mechanically and then asked, "Would you like a true story or a legend?"

The girl cried out, "Tell us about knights and princesses and dragons!" The other children cheered.

"I will tell you the story of Beowulf. Even thought there aren't any dragons, there are warriors and kings and a MONSTER called Grendel. Will that do for a story?"

The girl looked around at her classmates and the other children nodded enthusiastically. "Please!"

The group watched as the Cylon Educator began the story of Beowulfe. After ten minutes, a bell was heard. Ms. Brown stopped and said, "I will have to continue the story tomorrow during recess. It's time for you to go back to class."

There were sounds of disappointment, even as the children moved to stand. The human teacher said with a smile, "Thank Ms. Brown for the story and get moving!"

The children, almost as one group, moved to hug any part of the Cylon teacher they could reach before they ran off toward the school building, the two teachers following.

The Five Cylons of Earth were amazed at what they were seeing. Their expectation which caused them to shoot themselves blindly toward the Twelve other Tribes of Kobol were far, far different than what they encountered.

Expecting to find no Cylons or Cylons being oppressed or even Cylons fighting with their creators, the found instead an open society where the Cylons lived and worked openly amongst the Humans and seemed to be respected members of society.

When they were returned to their room, they sat and talked amongst themselves. Finally, Saul Tigh asked, "Can we see the history of the Cylons of the Twelve Colonies?"

Henry Kissinger nodded and moved to the side. He returned with a stack of books. Each took one and Tory Foster read the title out loud, "The Book of Sorrows and Joys and Love, an Account of the Rise of the Cylon from Slave to Freedom."

The five visitors each opened to the first page almost reverently.


End file.
